Benoit-Olivier Groulx is the latest core player to be traded by the rebuilding Halifax Mooseheads.
General manager Cam Russell announced on Sunday he had dealt his captain to the Moncton Wildcats for three draft picks - a 2021 first-round pick, a 2020 second and a 2022 second. It's believed the transaction is part of a bigger deal that will also see star defenceman Jared McIsaac go to the Wildcats after the world junior championship in January, at which time the assets involved will be altered.
Russell would not address that suggestion specifically, except to say "once you trade off some of your veterans, it makes sense to move some of the others too."
"There's no sense in going half in," Russell said. "Sometimes it's the unfortunate part of the cycle of junior hockey. But the reality is that these players that we're trading now, it's because we acquired them four or five years ago at the other end of the cycle. We brought Groulx in because we started a rebuild and had the assets to draft him."
Russell had already traded away overagers Patty Kyte, Walter Flower and Maxim Trepanier, and it's expected Raphael Lavoie will be going to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens after the world juniors. Again, Russell wouldn't comment on Lavoie's status but it's widely believed the 19-year-old winger will be moving to Chicoutimi in January in return for a package of high draft picks, unless he is injured between now and then.
The Sagueneens (No. 4) and Wildcats (No. 5) are both ranked in the CHL Top 10 and are second and third, respectively, in the QMJHL overall standings.
"I think any time we're moving our guys, obviously you're looking for fair value for your players and the market most times dictates what that is, but you're also looking at giving them an opportunity to win somewhere else," Russell said. "That's something we're happy about with trading Ben-O to Moncton. They've got a great team and he's got a great opportunity to possibly win a Memorial Cup."
To help offset the losses of so many veterans, Russell made moves last week to add 20-year-old forwards Kevin Gursoy and D'Artagnan Joly, as well as bring back popular defenceman Denis Toner. Toner was the odd man out in the overage picture at Halifax's training camp in August and was the captain of the Grand Falls Rapids of the Maritime Hockey League for the first half of the season.
"Denis has tremendous character and brings great leadership," Russell said. "He's just a positive person, a great kid to have in the dressing room and he's a really good hockey player. He was so close to making our team his first three years and then we were so happy he made it as a 19-year-old last year. He can step right in and play big minutes for us."
Gursoy had 26 points in 35 games for the Charlottetown Islanders before the Mooseheads traded a sixth-round pick for him and Joly was a sixth-round pick of the Calgary Flames in 2017. He cost Halifax an eighth-round pick in a deal with the Rimouski Oceanic.
"We want to make sure we're fair to all our players that are on our team and that's why we felt it was important to bring in some older guys that have experience," Russell said. "Gursoy and Joly can score goals. We're trying to surround our younger guys with some veterans to help us in the second half."
To be sure, the 15-15-2-1 Mooseheads will have a harder time winning games now than they did in the first half but there will be huge opportunities for their remaining young players to play more and develop.
"The plan is to be as competitive as possible and I think every single night you have to make sure when you step on the ice your plan is to win the hockey game and outwork the other team," Russell said. "That's going to be our philosophy and our thinking for every game in the second half."
And in the big picture, the idea is that there will be new building blocks in place once all of the deals are completed. That will either come in the form of blue-chippers arriving in Halifax as future considerations in the off-season to wrap up these deals or as drafted players in June.
"We're acquiring a lot of draft picks and we've always said the foundation of our team is something we want to build through the draft," Russell said. "That's what we're working hard to do right now - to acquire a lot of good picks so we can make sure we give our fans some exciting young players to watch every night."
Russell said he won't make any more deals before Christmas and doesn't expect to do much more before the QMJHL trade deadline on Jan. 6.
